


Happy Birthday

by ArtyArtemisFowlTheSecond



Category: Artemis Fowl - Eoin Colfer
Genre: Birthday, Fluff and Angst, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-15
Updated: 2020-09-15
Packaged: 2021-03-06 16:33:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,133
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26481961
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ArtyArtemisFowlTheSecond/pseuds/ArtyArtemisFowlTheSecond
Summary: Artemis' first birthday without his father will be difficult, but thanks to Butler, it might happily after all.
Comments: 4
Kudos: 12





	Happy Birthday

The house was silent. Artemis sat on the edge of his bed, legs absently swinging over the edge of the frame, staring out the window. He frowned, his frown quivered slightly, so he slid off the mattress onto his feet and headed downstairs to stop himself from crying.  
It was his birthday today. He turned 9 approximately 20 minutes before he woke up, but it didn’t feel like anything special. His father was missing, and had been for several months now, and his mother was slowly descending into madness. He was spending this one alone. Artemis felt his chin quiver again and he shook his head. No. Mustn’t dwell on such things. It was just like any other day.

Butler had different plans though. He knew that it was going to be a difficult day, and that he might face some backlash from the young master, but he wasn’t going to let Artemis’ birthday pass without doing something. He had been with the boy since his birth, spent every birthday with him, and today would be no different. He would have to tread carefully though, the last thing he wanted was to upset the child.  
The first thing was breakfast: eggs benedict, earl grey tea, whole wheat toast, and fresh fruits. Then it was a trip to the tailors to fit Artemis for a new suit since he had outgrown his previous one, and quite possibly a trip to get new shoes as well. The young boy was growing quite quickly.  
Lunch would be out at one of Artemis’ favorite cafes; the afternoon would be leisurely activities, likely chess, or light horseback riding. Things to keep Artemis’ mind busy. Dinner would be curry and naan with tea, and Butler would give Artemis a gift. There would a fruit tart instead of cake because Artemis ‘did not like sweets’, a recent thing the boy was going through, but there would still be candles. Butler smiled to himself as he placed the plate of food at Artemis’ usual spot. Just in time.  
Artemis rounded the stairs and looked at Butler, who was setting a plate down on the table.  
“Good morning,” he said, realizing as he spoke that his words sounded hollow.  
Butler gave him a warm smile, knowing at once that Artemis’ mood was. He was still going to make the attempt to a good day though.  
“Good morning, Artemis. I made you breakfast. Your tea will be finished soon.”  
The manservant noticed a slight upward curve to Artemis’ mouth, a subtle smile, as he sat down to eat.  
“Thank you. No sugar please.” As if he had to say it; Artemis knew that Butler wouldn’t add sugar, even if he hadn’t said it. It was mostly habit that he did.  
The birthday boy started to eat his breakfast, trying to put on a show that he wasn’t secretly missing his parents sitting at the table with him. Even if they barely spoke to him, their company was missed. Butler nearly startled him by placing the teacup on the table and speaking.  
“We have a full day ahead of us,” he said.  
Artemis furrowed his eyebrows. “We do?” He wasn’t expecting this.  
Butler nodded his head, smiling again. “First thing, the tailors. You said that you needed a new suit since you recently had a growth spurt. With a new suit comes new shoes, so we will also stop by and buy a pair or three.” He chuckled to himself.  
“By the time we are done, it will be close to lunch time. I was thinking we could eat at Caffe Florian, since we will be in the area.”  
Artemis just listened and ate. He wasn’t used to Butler laying out the day for him, but given how he was feeling, Artemis was secretly glad that he was. Artemis was also glad that, while he wasn’t outright saying it, Butler was doing this because it was his birthday. The boy knew he wouldn’t have forgotten it, but the thought crossed his mind that it would have been ‘forgotten’ for the fear of upsetting him. It wasn’t exactly the same as his other birthdays, but spending the day with Butler doing things that the boy enjoyed was better than nothing. Artemis attempted to smile at Butler as the large man took his plate for him  
“Shall I get everything ready?”  
“It sounds like a great way to spend the day. Yes.”

Artemis was fitted for his suit, his first Armani. He liked the way the fabric felt and the overall fashion, and a well-fitted suit looked nice on anyone. They then bought a few pairs of matching Oxfords, black of course, and made their way to the Caffe Florian where they ate in relative silence, but it was a content silence.  
The rest of the afternoon passed much like Butler had hoped: Artemis rode the horses for a time, bathed, and then played hours of chess with him. When evening rolled around, Artemis’ mood dropped a little as dinner was being prepared. It was interrupted by Juliet coming down the stairs to ramble about the recent wrestling matches she watched, and while Artemis didn’t really care, he listened with half-interest to keep his mind busy. Dinner was served to all three of them. Juliet continued to talk about wrestling, but neither Butler nor Artemis stopped her.  
Butler stood abruptly and left the room. Artemis’ gaze followed him, his eyebrows furrowed. When he came back with a rather large wrapped box, Artemis’ eye widened and he once again felt as if he would cry.  
“It wouldn’t be much of a birthday if you didn’t get at least one gift,” the man said, placing the box in front of the boy.  
Artemis swallowed; how could he tell Butler that just getting out of the house and doing things was satisfying? That the thought put into making sure he didn’t spend the day alone was enough for the now nine-year-old boy?  
All he could manage was, “You didn’t have to get me a gift, Butler.”  
His words were met with a kind smile from Butler and a bit of a cheeky one from Juliet. She was in on it too it would seem. Butler stood up and waited for Artemis to open the gift. He opened it gingerly at first, but it took a bit too long; the boy was curious to know what Butler had gotten him.  
It was simple, but it was computer parts. Nothing put together, so Artemis could configure it the way he wanted to, but it was all there. Artemis smiled and chuckled slightly, opening the box further to examine all the parts.  
“Thank you!”  
And for a moment, Butler saw a nine-year-old boy enjoying his birthday without a care in the world.


End file.
